7/15/11

Reading the Vancouver Pride Guide I could not find the word transgender or transsexual. Gay, queer, lesbian and drag out the ying-yang but transgender was not mentioned. Not even once.

This fact has has not escaped the notice of a outspoken transgender Vancouver resident, Tami Starlite, who then organized a "Trans Celebration & Liberation March"in protest of trans exclusion by the Vancouver Gay pride.

Seemingly ignorant of the Vancouver Gay Pride's elitist's dismissive exclusionary assimilation and of the transgender community Scott Blythe, general manager of the VPS when informed of the separate transgender event announced a transgender BBQ would be held. And what better place to show hide your solidarity with the transgender community than to have the BBQ inside the premise of the VPS offices!

Blyth told straight.com “We wanted to provide some sort of framework and some support for the trans community, to say, ‘We want to show that visibility’—on their our terms, not on our their terms,” Blythe said by phone.

No BBQ on the patio for TAMI.

Tami was vivid about this. She replied to my inquiry:

"The BBQ is more tokenism. People do not understand that by definition we are not part of mainstream society. GrrrrrOWL! We should not be - as I stated in my reply to the article. PRIDE has a history and it is all political and VERY personal. I have a great admiration to those who do not work within the system. The system is patriarchy....capitalist and very ...unequal. Enough of giving this shit show our energy.....time to move forward as a society....stagnate as we wallow in our privilege. Shame on the Gay & Lesbian community for allowing the trans and bi people to be token and erased.!!!!"

It may be just as well because transgender people might not have been allowed to march under there sign anyways. It seems any signage slightly political in nature will be a No NO.